Today was the press presentation of My Red Light, the new name of Project Own Window. This project aims to let sexworkers in Amsterdam's Red Light District run their own brothel. Or at least, that's what they claim, because here's the truth.

I've already talked about this projectbefore, and criticized the framing of the mayor on this project. He proposed this project to be a 'pimp free’ brothel, insinuating with this that other brothels were not pimp free, and that this brothel would be the first brothel without pimps. A complete bullshit story, since first of all there are very few girls that actually have a pimp (I'll go into that further below) and since this brothel has just as much chance of renting their windows to a girl with a pimp as any other brothel.

Today's publicity about the project even stated that the current brothel owners are an increasing risk on abuses (aka trafficking). A complete bullshit story, which is just the reason why many girls don't trust this project. First of all there are hardly any abuses to begin with, as the numbers from the city of Amsterdam themselves prove. With only 1,5% (102 sexworkers) of all the 6750 estimated sexworkers in Amsterdam there are suspicions that they might be victims of trafficking. In fact, only about 30 woman anually press charges for human trafficking. So this is not really a big problem, unlike how people (like the mayor for example) often claim.

It's again the mayor trying to frame the current brothel owners as the bad guys in favor of this brothel, just so he can have an excuse to close down the other brothels. Current brothel owners don't increase the risk of abuses at all, and this project also doesn't reduce it. It's bullshit. Who runs the brothel has nothing to do with who's being exploited or forced. In fact, giving this project to the wrong sexworkers could even result in a pimp invested brothel, where the real people who are pulling the strings aren't the sexworkers, but the pimps controlling them. So than you'd basically be giving the pimps full control over this 'pimp free' brothel.

What people should really be asking themselves is which problem this project solves? It doesn't prevent any abuses, that's a fact. Girls working in this brothel could just as well have a pimp as the ones working with any other brothel, you can't see that on the outside, it's something that happens in someone's personal situation. As someone who runs a brothel you can't see this on the outside.

So if it doesn't stop the trafficking they claim to be stopping, than what problem does this project solve? Sexworkers would have more control over the brothel. Very nice, but the vast majority of sexworkers are already happy with how things are going in the current brothels. A research done by the PIC in the Red Light District itself shows only 5% is unhappy with their brothel operator, 50% is happy and 43% are neutral about it. Another research done by the Dutch government nation wide shows 79% being happy with their relationship with their brothel owner. So that's not a problem that needed fixing.

In fact, only 6 sexworkers showed an interest in working in this brothel at all, which shows just how small the demand for this project from the sexworkers side is. In the newspaper Monica talks about that there's a lot of interest from the prostitution industry itself, but that's not true at all, which is also the reason why she doesn't want to say how many sexworkers are involved in this project. Well, here's the truth: In total 15 girls where interested to work on this project, but most of them didn't want to work there, resulting in only 6 girls who actually want to work there. We're talking about only 6 sexworkers, even though in the Red Light District alone there are already an estimated 600 sexworkers working, so that's about 1%!

So if it's not the trafficking problem, and not how the brothel is being run, what other reason could they have to start this project? So sexworkers themselves can decide how they work? Well, we already can! I decide which days I work, how long I work, how I work. The mayors claim that girls are forced to rent a window 7 days a week, and pay for their room during vacation is largely bullshit. First of all it's not even allowed anymore to rent 7 days a week a room, so every brothel gives you at least one day off a week for which you don't have to pay the room. Secondly, just some brothels demand you to pay for your room if you go on vacation if you want to keep the rooms yours. This does certainly not apply to all brothels.

Just to give you an example. I don't work 7 days a week, I work 5 days a week, and also only pay for my room 5 days a week. So it's not that true that we have to pay for 7 days a week. I also can get as much vacation as I want, with a maximum of 6 weeks, and even more if you can find a girl who wants to work in my room during that period. In short, if another girl works in your room during your vacation, you can take as much vacation as you want. So this is just a lie!
And just to give you a little hint at how much better the rental conditions are for My Red Light, they only allow you to take maximum 3 weeks in a row vacation. My own brothel does not for example have a maximum on this. So this is not better, this is less!

Than they come up with the excuse that sexworkers can now decide how the brothel should look like. For example, so they can have a shower. Newsflash, every brothel where sexworkers work already have a shower, this is not something new! A mirror in our brothel? Please, come on, we already have those as well! In fact, my room has two big mirrors! It's nice that they can decorate their own brothel now, but if that's the reason for doing this project, than why didn't they just subsidize the current brothel owners to redecorate their brothels? Would've saved up a lot of money in stead of this very expensive project, which so far isn't really tackling any problems.

Than they mention the fact that we as sexworkers demanded more safe workplaces. That is absolutely correct, we even demonstrated for that last year. But than why are they still closing down more than twice as many windows as they're opening up now? If the problem is that there aren't enough safe workplaces, than why are you closing down twice as much of them as you're re-opening?
Chairperson of PROUD, Yvette Luhrs, said it correctly in the news article. This project is just being used as a small bandage on the huge gaping wound the city created themselves by closing down so many windows. It's a tiny discount on how many windows they're going to close down. It's like they first steal everything from you, and than you get one small piece back from them, and you should be happy about that.

Even worse is that this brothel is claiming to be the first prostitution company where sexworkers themselves are in control. Besides the fact that this is an insult to every sexworker that is currently running their own business, it is also incorrect. In fact, every single window prostitute IS running her own prostitution company. There are in Amsterdam alone already approximately 1000 sexworkers running their own business of which I'm one! So this is a huge insult on every other sexworker, as if we would not be running our own businesses, as if they would be the first, which is absolutely not true!

But even more ironic is the fact that their claim of a brothel being run by sexworkers isn't even true! Several employees from current brothel operators have already been in talks to start working there to run the brothel on a daily base! These are the same people who are currently working in the brothels the mayor is claiming to be increasing the problem of abuses. So how they fuck can you be claiming sexworkers would run their own brothel, if you're in talks with other people to run it, which are even the same people running the other brothels right now?!

Than they try to rip off from other brothels. For example, by creating a place where sexworkers come together and drink a cup of coffee. Well, I guess it's better to steal something good, than to come up with something shit yourself. Because they've simply stole this idea from several other brothels in Amsterdam's Red Light District. For example in the Sint Annenstraat there's a brothel who has the same thing, also two other brothels on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal have the same thing. This isn't new! You're just stealing the ideas from other brothel owners and claiming you're the first!

The community feeling they want to create is something for example they stole from my brothel operator. He frequently organizes parties and barbeques for example for all the girls working there. At New Year's Eve for example we had a party, we went one time to a pancake restaurant on a boat with all the girls, in the summer we had a barbeque, they even went with some girls to Sensation White! So this also isn't anything new!

But probably the worst of all things, is the fact that banks such as Triodos and Rabobank, who are notorious for refusing sexworkers, now all of the sudden want to be part of this project. Triodos even refused sexworker lead organisation PROUD, who stands up for the rights of sexworkers! But now when the mayor gets involved they all of the sudden pretend to be sexwork friendly. Good for those 6 girls who are going to be working there, but they're still refusing all other sexworkers. It's the worst form of hypocrisy. The banks that refuse sexworkers most often, are just trying to make a good name for themselves. But make no mistake, they still are refusing sexworkers, so it's just a privilege created by the mayor specifically for this project, and nothing else!

The more I find out about this project, and see how they present themselves (first prostitution business run by sexworkers) and the mayor (a pimp free brothel), the more I'm starting to dislike it. They're only interested in their own brothel, but not in any of the other hundreds of sexworkers working at other brothels. They're still closing down dozens of windows, and are using these 14 windows as leverage. While they're claiming it to be a brothel run by sexworkers, while in reality it will be the same people who are running the current brothels now.

Look, it's simple. People who have a problem with prostitution will lie and distort the truth to shape the world the way they want it (in this instance it's usually feminists and the church, members of which infiltrate the police, the press and non-governmental organisations. What I find difficult to understand (truly) is that these 'moral people' will adopt a moral tone about prostitution but have no qualms about lying to serve their agenda (which is, I'm afraid, immoral). On top of which, morality is not an absolute. It's defined by whoever has power. Jan van der Damm

So it looks like that the major of amsterdam and the kindly helpful people around him are the biggest pimps in the country, maybe not even in control of themselfes (remote controlled by money and power) with this project and the outlook of it...sry...but this idea I`m getting by reading between the lines...And they did not even realise it, that instead of giving a helping hand to women in need, who are in control of their own life and business, that are no stupid or helpless fools or victims of trafflicking, they are kicking them down, what should that be. Amsterdams magic is, that there is a place like the red light district and the liberal image this city had for the last 20 years. The people are easy going in Amsterdam, very friendly, if you go there as a tourist, you have a total chilled feeling. And I was not even in one coffeeshop, I`m not drinking or using drugs. I felt very well in the red light district, I was so impessed by the prostitutes that were standing there to do what they do, by the way, there you can see so many beautiful woman, but I felt disturbed by all this tiny ugly scum (yes I mean this tiny brides with their girlfriends), walking around taking photos and making fun of the womens in charge of their actions and decisions. And yes I`m a woman, too.I had only one thing in my mind, I hoped, that if any of the prostitutes is in need for help, if a costumer is not paying or is hurting them, that there will be someone to help and by all this people walking around there, that there will still be clients, strong enough to go and ask for a little time out with the women of their favour.I think every person should be able to decide what they want to do with their lives and how they want to earn the money for living. It`s not a fair world and if you are strong enough, why should you not work in this sector,if you want it, you make a good job, otherwise there will be more rapes and other stuff happening to people not so strong and against their will. Please keep up fighting for the womens right to do with our body what we want, not what society thinks is good. I hope that the prejustice will stop, but the human mind is just such a terrible tool of nonsense sometimes...

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Romanian prostitute working in the Red Light District in Amsterdam (De Wallen), speaking out for the truth behind prostitution. Blogging about prostitution, human trafficking, forced prostitution, politics and all the myths surrounding it. Member of PROUD, the Dutch union of sex workers.